January's birthday Girl

Well, as most of you know, Jan 4th was Giulia's birthday. She turned two this year and hasn't stopped opening presents. We went straight from Christmas to three separate birthday parties. We had a family dinner on her actual birthday, another on the 12th when Annie, Taylor and Vivian were in town and finished with a De Min party and dinner later that night. She is so used to getting presents that she just asks for them now. It's going to be hard on her having to wait till Easter. :D

Jan 2008_1

Make sure you click on the pictures to see the entire albums. We have lots of pictures of family and fun, dancing, dress up and lots of people here to visit. We'll miss all of you now that we have a lonely stretch ahead of us.

We hope to be heading to Colorado this month, but Mic has been called to jury duty, so we'll see what happens. It is, of course, right in the middle of the last two weeks of the month, so difficult to work around.

God Bless all of you in 2008.
love, Summer, Mic and Giulia

Happy New Year!

December was great for us because Mic wasn't on the road. He got to stay home a lot and spend lots of time with us. Giulia tried a ballet class at her Aunt Cate's studio and since she did so well, we've signed her up for this session. Today was her first official ballet class. She loved it and is now taking her nap in her tutu. Cute!

skateboards and ballet 12-07

It has been a wonderful holiday season. I can't believe how spoiled all of us were. Thank you everyone for all the wonderful gifts. There are too many favorites to mention, but everyone has been enjoyed so far. The best gift of all was time spent with family. We stayed in Ca this year and had Christmas with family close by. We went to Mass on Christmas Eve and then spent the whole day with Mic's family since it was Cricket and Riley's last day in town. Anthony (her husband who was serving in Iraq) was coming home and they headed back to Texas. He has now safely arrived back home and everyone is happy. Welcome Home Anthony and thanks for doing what you do for all of us. We are proud of you.

The next day was a Marshall feast out at Mom's and a birthday dinner for Vivian. The baby of our family is now 21 yrs old. Mom, Beth and I took her out for dinner and drinks too. That was a blast! Mom really enjoyed that and we went out again in Jan when Annie came to town. Good tradition I think. We spent lost of time playing games and enjoying the kids.

cmas day 12-07

All in all, we had an amazing 2007 and are looking forward to a very exciting 2008. We love you all, Happy new Year!

Summer, Mic and Giulia

Dec 07

cmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here are some pics of what we have been up to. Decorating was fun this year because Mic actually helped and enjoyed it. Giulia really makes a lot of things more fun. She rearranges the ornaments daily but so far hasn't broken any of them.

I have been baking with Mom, but have put off my own baking. Right now, I should be elbow deep in Pumpkin bread, but this was more fun. Everyone here is doing well and we are looking forward to Christmas with everyone here. We'll have dinner with Mic's family Christmas day and out at Mom's the day after Christmas. We'll be fatter my news years, so we can set a good resolution.

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. For those of you far away, we really miss you and hope that your season is bright.

God Bless, Summer

fall 07 catch up

Here is an album to catch up on our fall pictures.....enjoy and look for Cmas shots soon.

love you all, summer

Shall I begin?

Hello all,

I hope that this post turns out better than the last one. I tried three times to post something, but "Welcome" is all I got. I need to find our how Ray does the Picasa albums on his site. I decided to give this a try after Ray and Heather opened their own blog. I thought it might be fun for family, especially those far away.

We are all getting ready for Thanksgiving. We are having a large feast out at my Mom's house with maybe 30 people again this year. We are working very hard, Ray and Heather, to fill your seats from last year. :D Mom has us all doing yard work and house work to get it ready. I think she agreed to host this again, not because she was begged by my inlaws, but because she wanted her house clean. Let me know if I got it right Mom!

Yesterday Dad and Mic started the perimiter fence she wanted, Beth cleaned out her rock garden and I built her red paver patio. Cate and two of her dancers came out and cleaned and oiled the kitchen cabinets, so we are well on our way to a clean house. Mom and Beth are out of school for the week, so we'll be cooking and cleaning all week.

We miss all of you who can't make it, but we pray for a very happy Thanksgiving for all of you and safe travels to you and your families.

love to all, Summer

PS- enjoy Giulia's cheesy face!

Welcome!